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SYLLABUS 



Course of Study 



IN THE 



HISTORY 



OF THE 



City of New York 



BY 



WILLIAM ALEXANDER HOY. 



1897. 






Copyright 



WlLUAM AlvEXANDER HOY 

1896 
p. 

Author. 
19F'04 



'npHE accompanying general outline of the History of 
-*- New York City, and the special topics and ques- 
tions on the Dutch period, are designed chiefly for leaders 
of classes or of groups of students. A list of special topics 
and questions on the English Colonial, the Revolutionary 
and the following periods of the city's history is in course 
of preparation. 

All these synopses and questions should be considered 
merely as suggestive, for every leader in historical read- 
ing must determine individually what method may be 
pursued to best advantage. It should be borne in mind, 
however, that the general plan of this presentation of the 
History of New York City is to include a narration, an 
analj^sis, a comparison of the events which lie in causal 
sequence between the city as it is and the city as it was ; 
between the mighty metropolis of 2,000,000 inhabitants 
and the puny colony of no adventurers who first made 
homes for white men on Manhattan Island. And the 
main purpose of the work is to give to the young people 
of the American Metropolis that knowledge of their City 
Mother's glorious past which shall kindle and increase 
civic pride, and stimulate them to be thoughtful, honor- 
able and active in performing the duties of citizenship. 

For that part of New York City's history which is knit 
into and related to the origin of the early colonies, the 
settlement of the struggle between Anglo-Saxon and I^atin 
civilizations for supremacy in North America, the revolt 
of the colonies against England and the founding and 
the development of the Federal Union, it will be advisable 
to consult the standard works of John Fiske and John 
Bach McMaster. They have treated these topics exhaust- 
ively. Mr. Fiske's summary, "A History of the United 
States for Schools," is especially valuable for its brevity 
and its clear method of showing cause and effect. An- 
other somewhat similar, compact and excellent work is 



"The Growth of the American Nation," by Henry Pratt 
Jiidson, of the University of Chicago. 

For that part of New York City's history which is not 
related to the history of the rest of the countr}^ — which is 
isolated and belongs to Manhattan Island alone — the four 
elaborate volumes of the Memorial History edited by 
James Grant Wilson and the two volumes written by 
Martha J. I,amb are recommended as works of reference. 
For detail as to buildings, streets, persons and essentially 
local incidents, Valentine's Manuals are an abundant 
treasure. Many illustrated articles in Harper's, the 
Century and other periodicals are of absorbing interest 
and large value. 

In connection with the Dutch period, a most entertain- 
ing volume for collateral reading is Irving' s Knicker- 
bocker History of New York ; with the Revolutionary 
era, The Spy, by Cooper ; with the Federalist period, the 
biographies of Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in the 
American Statesmen series. 

As a treatise upon the ethnic and political evolution of 
New York, Theodore Roosevelt's volume in the Historic 
Towns series stands almost alone. As a textbook for 
class use, the most available is Charles Burr Todd's 
" The Story of New York City." It is concise and has 
local color. 

Before studying the detail of any one period in New 
York City's history it will be advisable to take a sweep- 
ing, comprehensive glance at the complete span of the 
city's existence, making a survey of the whole course 
and touching on only largely significant events. For 
those who are familiar with the important links uniting 
the present to the past, this view of the entire historical 
chain may be omitted ; for others it may be presented in 
a general explanation based on the following outline : 

The Modern City of New York. 

The City as it is in 1896. — Its area, population, 
commerce, industries, complex social and racial 



characteristics. — Its form of government. — The polit- 
ical relation between City, County , State and Federal 
Union. — The Greater New York plan. — The need 
of a Better New York. — Public opinion and citizen- 
ship. 

The Origin of New Amsterdam : 

The discoveries and explorations of Columbus, 
Cabot, Verrazano and Hudson. — The conflicting 
European claims of ownership resulting therefrom. — 
How the Dutch settled on Manhattan Island, and 
how their possessions were surrendered to England. 
— How England also absorbed New Sweden and 
New France. 

New Amsterdam becomes New York, a Colonial 
City of Bngland : 

Why the people welcomed the change from Dutch 
to English rule, — New York City's part in wars 
against the Indians and the French. — The Colonial 
Congress assembled here in 1690 to devise means to 
protect the Colonies from attacks of French and 
Indians. — How England misused the New York and 
other communities. — How the lavish hospitality of a 
New York merchant, Walton, induced British Minis- 
ters to believe the colonists were rich, and hence the 
obnoxious tax laws. — How New York joined in pro- 
tests against England's tyranny. — The first Colonial 
Congress of Revolutionary times meets in New York 
City, 1765, and adopts a Declaration of Rights and 
an address to the King. — The New York merchants' 
Non-Importation Agreements. — The New York Mas- 
sacre. — The New York Tea Party. — How New York 
received the news of Eexington. 

New York City in the Revolution : 

Threatened by General Howe's fleet and troops. — 
Fortifications in and around the city built by Wash- 



ington. — The Battle of Long Island. — The reading 
of the Declaration of Independence to Washington's 
troops on the site of the present City Hall, July 9, 
1776, and the melting into leaden bullets of the 
Bowling Green statue of George III. — Washington's 
masterful retreat from Long Island through New 
York City to Harlem. — Mrs. Murray's Tea Party. — 
The Battle of Harlem Heights.— New York City in 
the hands of the English Army during the Revolu- 
tion. — The execution of Nathan Hale in or near the 
City Hall Park site. — Washington's return to New 
York City. — His farewell to his staff at Fraunce's 
Tavern on Broad Street. — The Evacuation by the 
British and the triumphant hoisting of the American 
flag on the Battery Liberty Pole. 

New York City, Free and Independent : 

Much of the City left in ruins b}^ the English. — 
The rebuilding and improvements. — Hostility be- 
tween New York and other States. — The general 
unwillingness to found a Union of the States. — The 
mighty and successful efforts of Alexander Hamilton 
and John Jay to overcome this opposition. — Their 
great services in making the United States a nation, 
and Hamilton's grand triumph in behalf of New 
York City in persuading the rest of New York State 
to ratify the Federal Constitution. — Why this was 
the most critical period in American historj^, and 
how New York City then played its most brilliant 
and most important part in the course of the country's 
existence. 

New York City the First Capital Under the 
Constitution of the United States : 

The inauguration of Washington as President. — 
The sessions of Congress. — Quaint social and polit- 
ical life. 



7 

New York City the American Metropolis; 
Some Causes: 

The City's harbor and rivers and other advantages 
of location. — How peace and Independence per- 
mitted her merchants now, for the first time, to 
trade freely with all the world.— The triumph of 
Jay in making the treaty of commerce. —The War 
of 1 812, and England's unsuccessful effort to check 
American navigation. — How and why commerce and 
immigration grew and the consequent development 
of New York City.— John Jacob Astor and other 
great New York merchants. — Robert Fulton trans- 
forms water commerce by applying steam to naviga- 
tion. — New York City and the Hudson the scene of 
his triumph. — Cornelius Vanderbilt becomes an 
ocean king and also the founder practically of 
American railway systems. — De Witt Clinton builds 
the Erie Canal and taps the great lakes and makes 
New York City the trading centre of nations. — 
Samuel F. B. Morse utilizes electricity for telegraphy, 
and another New Yorker, Cyrus W. Field, lays the 
first Atlantic cable. — Various thoroughly local causes 
and results of Metropolitan progress, such as the 
introduction of gas, the building of the Croton Aque- 
duct, the laying out of Central and other parks, the 
extending of intramtural and suburban transporta- 
tion lines, the construction of the first Brooklyn 
Bridge and the founding of charitable, art, educa- 
tional, financial and commercial institutions. 

After a resum6 of New York's origin and stages of de- 
velopment, such as is suggested in the foregoing outline, 
students will be prepared to take up the detail, the inci- 
dent, the minutiae of successive periods. Having a clear 
conception of the relation of these several periods, their 
interest in the study of a single period in detail will be 
intensified. 



Queries prompted by the discussion of the subject in 
hand should supplement the topics and questions on the 
Dutch period herewith submitted. 

Discovery and Bxploration. — I. 

1 . What did Columbus seek in his voyage to the West ? 

2. What did Columbus find ? 

3. What did Columbus suppose he had found ? 

4. What were the discoveries of Vespucius and the 

Cabots ? 

5. What were the consequences of the discoveries of 

Columbus, Vespucius and the Cabots ? 

6. Tell the story of Verrazano ? 

7. Why did not England take immediate advantage of 

the Cabot discoveries ? 

S. Why did France neglect to utilize at once the dis- 
covery of Verrazano ? 

9. How many years passed after Verrazano reported to 
Francis I. of France before Manhattan Island was 
brought again to the notice of Europeans ? 
10. Tell the story of the Half- Moon, Hendrik Hudson 
and what Hudson found : his final fate. 

The Dutch and the Indians. — II. 

1 . Who were the Dutch ? Describe their rise as a 

nation. Describe their government. 

2. How did the Dutch rank in 1600 as traders? Com- 

pare them with the English. 

3. Name and describe the great commercial companies 

of the beginning of the 17th centurj'. 

4. What was Hudson seeking, and w^hat did he think he 

found, when he saw the river now named after him ? 

5. Describe Hudson's intercourse with the Indians ? 

6. Why are the aborigines of America called Indians ? 

7. How did the Indians become acquainted with rum 

and gunpowder, and what were the consequences ? 



The Purpose of the Dutch Settlement.— Ill, 

1. Who was Adrian Block and what did he discover? 

2. In what way did Dutch merchants act upon the 

reports of Hudson and Block ? What name was 
given to the new country ? What new company 
was formed ? 

3. What is the historical relation between the West 

India Company and the present City of New 
York? 

4. What was the chief purpose of the West India Com- 

pany ? What was also required of it by its char- 
ter? How did the company comply with this 
requirement ? 

5. Who were the Walloons ? 

6. Compare the purposes which actuated the settlements 

in Florida, Virginia, New York and Massachusetts. 

7. Upon what did England claim the territory in which 

the Dutch were preparing to settle ? 

Minuit, the First Governor. — IV. 

1. Whom did the West India Company place in charge 

of the first colony, and in what ship was the 
voyage made ? 

2. Describe Manhattan Island as Peter Minuit found it. 

3. What did Minuit do to acquire the land? Why? 

When ? 

4. Give some examples of the value of land in New 

York City to-day. 

5. Describe the appearance of the Dutch participants in 

the first Manhattan Island real- estate transaction. 

6. Describe the Indians, their customs, habitations and 

life generally. 

7. What form of government did Minuit institute? 

8. What valuable rights were denied to Minuit' s col- 

onists ? 

9. What buildings did Minuit erect, and where ? Tell 

of the first church, the first minister. 



lO 

10. How did Minuit deal with the Indians? How did 

trouble with them begin ? 

11. What and when were the first goods exported from 

Manhattan Island to Kurope ? Compare with to- 
day's exports. 

12. Who was Sarah Rapaelje? 

Minuit's White Neighbors; the Patroons and 
Minuit's Departure.— V. 

1. Who were Minuit's nearest white neighbors? 

2. Describe the exchange of messages between Minuit 

and Bradford. 

3. What was the mission of Isaac de Rasieres ? 

4. Relate the story of the voyage of the Nassau. 

5. What were the results of the visit to the Pilgrims ? 

6. How did the young Dutch colony prosper ? What 

land was made into farms ? What did the West 
India Companj' do to increase its revenue from 
New Netherlands ? 

7. Who were the Patroons ? What extraordinary privi- 

leges were granted them ? What rights were 
reserved to the West India Company ? 

8. I^ocate and describe some of the estates founded by 

the Patroons. 

9. Who was Kilian Van Rensselaer ? 

10. What quarrel arose between the West India Com- 

pany and the Patroons ? 

11. Tell the story of the building of the ship New 

Netherlands. 

12. Why did Minuit leave the colony and what was the 

result ? 

13. What is said of Minuit's administration of the 

colony ? 

Van Twiller, the Second Governor. — VI. 

1. Who was Wouter Van Twiller ? Describe him. 

2. What is the story of Petersen De Vries and his quarrel 

with the Indians ? 



II 

3- What is the story of Van Twiller and Post-trader 
Eelkens and his English ship The William? 

4. How did Van Twiller try to prevent Englishmen from 

trading with Indians and what came of it? 

5. Tell of Van Twiller's quarrel with English colonies 

concerning Connecticut and how he was defeated. 

6. Narrate the circumstances of Van Twiller's victory 

over the Virginians on the Delaware. 

7. What was Van Twiller's management of the internal 

affairs of the Colony? What did he do to im- 
prove the Colony ? 

8. What did Van Twiller do for himself? His personal 

acquisitions of propertj-^ ? 

9. Why was Van Twiller removed ? 

10. Compare the administrations of Minuit and Van 

Twiller. 

11. Compare the conditions of the people under both. 

12. Compare the map of 1642 with the map of 1896. 

Kieft, the Third Governor.— VII. 

1 . Who was Wilhelm Kieft ? Tell of his reputation and 

his reception by the Colony. 

2. What was the nature of Kieft' s government ? 

3. How did Kieft form his Council and limit its power? 

4. In what respects does the relation between Kieft and 

his Council differ from the relation between the 
Governor of New York State and the State Senate ? 

5. Name some of Kieft' s laws and tell how he promul- 

gated them. How are laws made and promul- 
gated to-day? 

The Effects of Kieft's Policy.— VIII. 

1 . What were the effects of Kieft' s laws ? How did they 

affect public opinion ? 

2. Why was Kieft's policy injudicious? 

3. What did the West India Company do to enlarge 

the number of farms and why? 



12 



4- Compare the Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode 
Island and Dutch Colonies as to their toleration 
of religious beliefs. 

5. Discuss the Swedish invasion under Minuit of the 

Delaware country and tell what Kieft did. 

6. Describe Kieft 's cruelty to the Indians, the blood- 

shed on Staten Island, and the slaughter of the 
Raritans. 

7. What Indian trait was shown by the murder of 

Claes Srait? 

8. How did Kieft's Indian polic}^ afifect the Colony? 

9. What concession did Kieft make to popular rights? 

10. Describe the conflict between the Council of Twelve 

and the autocratic Kieft. 

11. What culmination came in 1643 of Kieft's folly? 

What massacres were caused? 

12. What was the cause of Van Rensselaer's baneful 

influence in Kieft's behalf? 

13. What threat did the colonists make in 1645? What 

was the result? 

14. Discuss Kieft's administration generally. What 

were its effects for good and for evil upon the 
people? 

15. Compare Minuit, Van Twiller and Kieft, their 

policies of government. 

16. Describe the progress of the Colony under these first 

three rulers. 

17. Compare the Battery in Kieft's day with the Battery 

in 1896. 

The Fourth and I^ast Governor, Stuyvesant. 

IX. 

1. Who was Peter Stuyvesant? Describe his achieve- 

ments prior to his appointment as fourth Governor 
of New Netherlands. 

2. When and how was Stuyvesant welcomed here? 

3. Compare the receptions given by the people to Van 

Twiller, Kieft and Stuyvesant. 



13 

4- What announcements did Stuyvesant make concern- 
ing his plans of government ? What changes did 
he make at the outset ? 

5. What was the cause of the Council's petition as to 

the Indian War ordered by Kieft, and how did 
Stuyvesant dispose of the request ? 

6. What influence did Kieft have with Stuyvesant and 

what trial came of it ? Why was Stuyvesant' s 
decision unjust ? 

7. What was the fate of Kieft and of Dominie Bogardus ? 

8. Describe Stuyvesant' s visit to Governor Winthrop 

and the consequent displeasure of the Dutch 
colonists ? 

The City of New Amsterdam.— X. 

1 . What great event in the history of Manhattan Island 

marks the year 1652 ? 

2. Give an analysis of the City's first charter. 

3. How did Stuyvesant treat the Cit}^ Fathers ? 

4. Describe the City in 1653 and its new officers. 

5. What voyage did Stuyvesant make in 1654 ? 

6. Tell the story of the great dinner in the City Hall 

and the giving to the City of its long-delayed seal. 

7. Describe the expedition against the Swedes upon the 

Delaware and the immediate results thereof. 

8. What relation does the Dutch seizure of the Delaware 

bear to the general subject of the European con- 
flicts as to the ownership of the North American 
Continent ? 

9. What advantage did the Indians take of Stuyvesant' s 

voyage to the Delaware ? 

10. Describe the murder of Van Dyck and Indian slaugh- 

ters in and around New Amsterdam ? 

11. What was Stuyvesant' s Indian policy ? 

12. What was Stuyvesant' s policy as to religion ? Whom 

did he persecute ? Should the West India Com- 
pany or the people be criticised for Stuyvesant' s 
intolerance ? 



14 

The Dutch Surrender to the English. XI. 

1 . What great event in the history of Manhattan Island 

marks the year 1664? 

2. What was England's claim to the territory then 

inhabited by the Dutch ? 

3. What were the causes of England's resolution to 

seize this territory ? 

4. What grant was made by Charles I. to James, Duke 

of York ? 

5. Describe the expedition under Col. Richard Nicolls. 

6. What was Nicolls expected to do ? What orders 

were sent to Governors of New England Colonies? 
How did Massachusetts and Connecticut feel as to 
these orders? 

7. What was the condition of New Amsterdam in 1664? 

8. Tell of Stuyvesant's alarm and how his journey to 

Albany was interrupted. 

9. What did Stuyvesant do to defeat the English? 

10. Where did Nicolls place his ships and soldiers to 

force the surrender of the city ? 

1 1 . What offers were made by Nicolls to the people ? 

12. Why were the colonists willing to submit to the 

demands of Nicolls ? 

13. Describe the landing of Governor Winthrop bearing 

the Nicolls letter urging the surrender. 

14. What reply did Stuyvesant make to Winthrop ? 

15. What did Stuyvesant do with the Nicolls letter ? 

16. What did the letter offer ? 

17. What difference of opinion existed between the people 

and Stuyvesant as to the letter ? How did the 
people finally get possession of the Nicolls letter ? 

18. What was the reasoning of the people over the situ- 

ation caused by the Nicolls demand and Stuy- 
vesant's policy ? 

19. Tell of Stuyvesant's message to Nicolls. How did 

Nicolls reply ? 

20. Describe the passing of the English ships and Stuy- 

vesant's emotions; the remonstrance of the people 



15 

and Stuyvesant's final order to hoist the white 
flag of surrender. 
21. Compare this scene with the scene in the Delaware 
country when Stuyvesant overthrew New Sweden. 

The Dutch Past and the English Future; 
Stuyvesant in Retirement.— XII. 

1. What terms were made in the capitulation of the 

Dutch to the English ? 

2. In what ways was the condition of the people im- 

proved by the fall of the Dutch dynasty ? 

3. What were the elements of strength and of weakness 

of the Dutch colonists ? 

4. What traits in their civic character seem to be dupli- 
cated by New York citizens to-day ? 

5. What were the virtues, what the faults, of the Dutch 

policy of governing New Amsterdam ? 

6. What were the merits, what the demerits, of Stuy- 

vesant ? 

7. Compare Stuyvesant with Minuit, Van Twiller and 

Kieft. 

8. Give the career of Stuyvesant after his retirement to 

private life. Tell the story of his pear tree. Why 
is the present St. Mark's Church one of the 
greatest monuments of Dutch New York ? 



[13.318A] 



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